Reference · Health Care

Care Inspectorate grades explained.

The Care Inspectorate grades Scottish care services on a six-point scale, from six for excellent down to one for unsatisfactory. Here is what each grade broadly means, and what typically moves a service up or down, in plain terms.

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The scale, in plain terms.

The Care Inspectorate awards a grade for each key question it evaluates, on a six-point scale. Six is the top and one is the bottom. The words below describe each grade in general terms, drawn from the published scale, so you can make sense of a grade you have been given or one you are working towards. Always refer to the Care Inspectorate's current published definitions for the precise wording, as it is the authority and updates its guidance.

The top and the line

Where the grades sit.

Grades 6 and 5

Excellent and very good

Strong, sector-leading or consistently high-quality practice, with clear evidence of good outcomes for people.

 Grades 4 and 3

Good and adequate

Important strengths that outweigh weaknesses (good), or strengths that only just outweigh weaknesses so improvement is needed (adequate).

 Grades 2 and 1

Weak and unsatisfactory

Significant weaknesses that must be addressed (weak), or major weaknesses requiring urgent action (unsatisfactory).

Move a grade the honest way

Find the gap before the inspector does.

Grades move when a service knows itself, evidences its strengths and acts on its weaknesses. Quickler captures the self-evaluation walk and the evidence at the point you observe it. £20 per active user per month with a £20 monthly minimum, plus a free tier of 20 reports a month, extra dormant users always free

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If you have ever asked what a Care Inspectorate grade actually means, or searched for something like what does grade 4 mean, this page is the plain-terms answer. The Care Inspectorate grades Scottish care services on a six-point scale for each key question it evaluates. Six is the highest and one is the lowest. The descriptions here are general, drawn from the published scale, to help you interpret a grade or work towards one.

Grades and their exact definitions are set by the Care Inspectorate and updated over time, so always refer to the Care Inspectorate's current published definitions for the precise wording. Treat this page as general information, not regulatory advice.

The short version

  • The Care Inspectorate uses a six-point grade scale: 6 excellent, 5 very good, 4 good, 3 adequate, 2 weak, 1 unsatisfactory.
  • A grade is given per key question, such as how good the care and support or the leadership is, not as a single overall mark.
  • Grade 4 (good) and above broadly means strengths outweigh weaknesses; grade 3 (adequate) is the point where improvement is clearly needed.
  • Grades 2 and 1 signal significant or major weaknesses that require action, sometimes urgently.
  • What moves a grade is evidence of good outcomes for people, honest self-evaluation, and visible action on weaknesses.
  • Always refer to the Care Inspectorate's current published definitions; this page describes the scale in general terms only.

The scale

The six-point grade scale at a glance

Each grade broadly describes the balance of strengths and weaknesses a service shows against a key question. The precise definitions are the Care Inspectorate's; always refer to its current published wording.

GradeWordWhat it broadly means
6ExcellentSector-leading practice. Outcomes for people are consistently of a very high standard and the service is an example others could learn from.
5Very goodMajor strengths and very few areas for improvement. Strong, high-quality practice with good outcomes for people.
4GoodImportant strengths that clearly outweigh weaknesses. Practice is sound, with some areas that could still be improved.
3AdequateStrengths only just outweigh weaknesses. Acceptable, but improvement is needed and weaknesses must be addressed.
2WeakSignificant weaknesses that outweigh strengths and must be addressed. Outcomes for people are at risk of being compromised.
1UnsatisfactoryMajor weaknesses requiring urgent and prioritised action. Outcomes for people are, or are likely to be, seriously compromised.

Grade 4 in focus

What does grade 4 mean?

Grade 4 is good. It broadly means the service has important strengths that clearly outweigh its weaknesses. Practice is sound and outcomes for people are positive, but there are still areas that could be improved. It is a solid grade that most services are comfortable to hold, and it sits above the adequate line, so it signals that the fundamentals are in place rather than merely acceptable.

To move from good to very good, a service typically needs to show more consistent, higher-quality practice across the whole key question, stronger evidence of good outcomes for people, and self-evaluation that is honest and acted upon. To slip from good to adequate, weaknesses grow until they only just outweigh the strengths. The Care Inspectorate's current published definitions are the authority on where exactly the line falls.

Up or down

What typically moves a grade

Grades are not awarded on paperwork alone. What tends to move a service up is clear evidence of good outcomes for the people using the service, a staff team that is skilled and well supported, a setting that supports wellbeing, and leadership that self-evaluates honestly and acts on what it finds. A service that knows its own weaknesses and can show the improvement work behind each one is treated very differently from one that grades itself generously and cannot back it up.

What tends to move a service down is the opposite: weaknesses that are not being addressed, outcomes that are slipping, gaps in staffing, training or safe recruitment, and self-evaluation that is either absent or not honest. The single most useful thing a service can do is run the inspector's framework on itself first, so any gap is found and closed before an inspection rather than discovered during one.

Questions, answered

What do Care Inspectorate grades mean?

The Care Inspectorate grades Scottish care services on a six-point scale for each key question it evaluates. Six is excellent, five is very good, four is good, three is adequate, two is weak and one is unsatisfactory. The grade describes the balance of strengths and weaknesses a service shows. Always refer to the Care Inspectorate's current published definitions for the precise wording, as it is the authority and updates its guidance.

What is the Care Inspectorate six-point scale?

It is the grading scale the Care Inspectorate uses in Scotland: 6 excellent, 5 very good, 4 good, 3 adequate, 2 weak, and 1 unsatisfactory. A grade is given per key question, such as how good the care and support or the leadership is, rather than as one overall mark. This page describes each grade in general terms; check the Care Inspectorate's current published scale for the exact definitions.

What is grade 4 from the Care Inspectorate?

Grade 4 is good. It broadly means the service has important strengths that clearly outweigh its weaknesses, with sound practice and positive outcomes for people, and some areas that could still be improved. It sits above the adequate line, so the fundamentals are in place. Refer to the Care Inspectorate's current published definitions for the precise meaning.

How does Quickler help move a grade?

Quickler captures the self-evaluation walk and the evidence at the point you observe it, so a service can find and close gaps before an inspection. It is £20 per active user per month, with a £20 minimum. An active user is someone who completed at least two workflows that month, so dormant users are free and you only pay for who actually works. There is a free tier of 20 reports per month with up to 10 photos per report. Quickler is not a care record or care management system; it is the evaluation and evidence layer around them, and whether your evidence satisfies an inspection is a judgement for you and your inspector.

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